The Three Faces of Nellie: The Real Story behind Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Nellie Oleson
Nellie Oleson was a character Laura Ingalls Wilder created based on three different girls who were Laura’s rivals growing up. Learn about the three girls, their real lives and what happened to each of them after the Little House books ended.
The character of Nellie Oleson is a fascinating one as she played the rival of Laura Ingalls Wilder in multiple Little House books in the series. But Nellie was actually based on three different girls (Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters, and Estella Gilbert) Laura knew growing up, and she combined the three into the single Nellie Oleson persona. Learn more about the real lives of the three who became Nellie Oleson.
